It has officially been one week since we first landed in Germany. We have done so many things since then, it feels like we've been here for a month. Getting to Bonn was and interesting adventure in itself as our bus ended up taking 4 hours rather than two due to a wreck on the autobahn. On the plus side of this, we were able to travel through the German country side and up along the bank of the Rhine. The first few days here were pretty hard to be honest. The culture shock was more than I expected, itt was frustrating and stressful to do just about anything due to the fact none of us spoke German. Things which were easy back home were next to impossible here, for example, trying to decipher the tram schedule/map.

It took a few days to acclimate but now, my little village of Oberdollendorf feels like home. Our house mom Carmen showed us a few hiking trails that lead up into the hills surrounding Bonn and on Ascension of Christ Day, Nick and I went hiking and discovered multiple vineyards.

This past weekend, a group of about 8 of us traveled to Amsterdam. We took off from Bonn and missed our second train. We ended up spending the day in Köln walking around and sight seeing. Finally, 4 hours after we were supposed to arrive we boarded the train to Amsterdam. Amsterdam was another culture shock in itself but this time we were ready. Although everything was in Dutch, it was easier to figure out the metro map and train schedule. We went through the Red Light District and toured the original Heineken brewery. Yesterday, we made our way back to Bonn and although I never thought I would say it, I was so happy to be back in my village.

The first week of class set the tone for the semester. I didn't realize that the history of medicine was related to music however, Dr. Waltz has convinced me otherwise. This upcoming week we are traveling to Vienna. We are going to see many of the famous concert halls, churches, and landmarks. After Vienna, a group of 12 of us are going to Prague. I'm looking forward to what this week has in store for us.